Winch



J. MORGAN Sept. 30, 1941:

WINCH Filed March 18, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet l R Y 5:51:54 0N E 0 MA m K K k-RAQ 1 JASPER .[Illtlt llll i ll H IIIIIII I.

BY ATT Sept. 30,.1941.

J. MORGAN Filed March 18, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR JASPER MORGAN Patented Sept. 30, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 12 Claims.

The present invention relates to winches and particularly winches for handling wire rope.

On modern sailing vessels Wire rope, because of its great tensile strength, less elasticity, small bulk and less deterioration from weather is extensively used for halyards, sheets, anchor lines and the like.

Because of its small diameter and metallic character, such lines can not be effectively hauled by hand. Its stiffness makes it difficult to belay on a cleat or belaying pin and the short curvature given it in so belaying, frequently gives the wire a permanent set and consequent weakening. Manilla and hemp tail-ropes are used in many instances, connectedwith the end of the wire rope by a long splice which will pass over a sheave or through a block. This long splice is a point of weakness and the wire ends of the splice work out through the manilla or hemp, creating injurious and dangerous conditions.

Because of the greater strength of wire rope, single runs are used for halyards and sheets in place of the older and more cumbersome block tackles. The resulting strain on such single parts makes them impossible to haul by hand. The present practice is therefore to use ratchet winches, operated by levers or hand cranks and designed with a mechanical advantage, dependent on the size of the wire rope. Such a winch is usually operated with one hand, while taking in the slack with the other hand. The fiber tail rope is necessarily bulky and it is a practical impossibility to stow a loose coil of the wire rope on deck. These factors all combine to creat inconvenient and dangerous conditions on deck.

With a view to eliminating some of the disadvantages resulting from use of the ratchet winch, drum winches have more lately come into favor. In this type, the end of the wire rope is made fast to the drum, which takes the place of the nigger head in the ratchet winch. Under most conditions, the first turns on the drum may be rather loose, the turns becoming increasingly tighter with increase of the load. As a result,

looser irregular turns may form the base for the laterturns carrying the full load. This causes wear and damage to the wire and provides the constant danger that a tight turn may jam down between twoloose underlying turns.

An inherent disadvantage of the drum winch is that the effective diameter of the drum increases with the amount of wire wound on it. Under practical conditions, the load is at the maximum, at the end of the haul. The power for operating the drum must be equal to this maximum load.. As aconsequence, there is a practical waste of power output upto substantially the last course on the drum..

The objects of the present invention are to avoid and eliminate the above noted objections; to haul in wire rope, with any required mechanical advantage and to secure it without the need for cleats, belaying pins and the like; to automatically stow the coils of wire rope taken in, in a safe, orderly fashion and in general, to provide a simple practical and efficient form of mechanism for accomplishing the objects stated.

The novel features of construction, combinations and relations of parts by which the objects of the invention are attained are set forth in the following description, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and broadly covered in the claims.

The drawings accompanying and forming part of the specification illustrate one practical commercial embodiment of the invention. The structure however may be modified and changed in various ways all within the true intent and broad scope of theinvention;

Fig. l is a broken plan of the winch mechanism partly in section on the plane indicated by line I-l of Fig. 2.

Fig, 2 is a substantially central sectional view of the winch as on the plane represented by line 22 of Fig.1.

Fig. 3 is a view of the winch as mounted in position on the side of a mast.

Figs. 4 and 5 are broken sectional details on substantially the planes of lines 4-4 and 5-5 of Fig. 1.

One of the special features of the invention is that the wire rope, as shown at l, in Figs. 1 and 2, is given a number of turns about a drum 8, and passes from the drum direct into a holder or container which automatically stows it in orderly coils.

This stowing container is shown as an, annulus 9, having top and bottom inwardly extending coil confining and supporting flanges 10 and II, said annulus being open at the center and being supported for free rotation as on the upper and lower sets of annularly disposed rollers l2, l3, engaging flanges l0 and l I, respectively.

In the present disclosure, the coil receiving holder is located about the annular wall l4, 'sur-' rounding the drum and forming an upstanding portion of the supporting base I5, of the winch. The lower set of rolls are shown located on the .mounting flange l6, of the base and the upper set of rolls are shown mounted on the underside brake control shaft 5-.

of the cap or cover H, which is removably secured by the screws l8, on top of the drum enclosing wall M of the base.

The cover I! is shown as faired down at l9, as a guard flange over the upper edge of the ratating coil holder and as provided with a guide opening 20, for the rope. A fairlead 2!, is indicated in Fig. l, in line with the guide opening for directing the ropethrough the annular wall l4, onto the upper portion of the drum and the latter is indicated in Fig. 2, as of slightly increased diameter at the upper end to cause the upper turn or turns of wire to work down smoothly over the periphery of the drum.

While the number of turns required for proper gripping of the wire rope may vary- 'withthe diameter of the rope and the size of,th e drum,

as well as the material of which thedrurn is made, a suitable relation is substantially that indicated. I i To assureapropergripping and laying of the coils onthe drum, there are provided in the illustration, rollers 22, groovedto fit one or more convolutions of the rope, the two lower turns in the illustration, said rollers being linked together by straps 23,holding the roller pivots 24, and being positioned and pressed toward the drum by-a roller 25, ,convexly curved at 26, to engage in the concavities of the coil confining rollers 22. To provide yielding pressure of the confining rollers against the coils on the drum, the roller 25', is shown ascarried by a shaft 21, loosely journalled at 28, at its upper end in the top cover I 7, and journalled at its lower'end in a bearing box 29, slidingly 'engagedin a 'guideway 30, in thebase -plate, I yieldingly thrust toward the drum by spring mearissuchas the blockiof rubber 3|, ad-

justably compressed by a follower 32, and thrust screw 33. V

The drum is operated in'the present disclosure either director through power amplifying reduction gearing. For direct operation, the shaft 34,

on which the drum is fixed is shown as having a socket 35, to receive the drive 'end of a hand crank'36, Fig. 3. The shaft is journalled at its lowerend in a bearing boss 37, on the base.

The low speed, high power, operation-is effected in the illustration by using the same hand crank 36, inserted in a socket 38; in the upper end of the roll carrying shaft 27, which as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, also carries a sprocket pinion 39, over which runs a chain'49, to sprocketgear 4!,

on shaft42. The latter carries a spur pinion 43, in mesh with the internal gear '44, in the lower surface speed andin the same directionof movement, thus to smoothly and firinly-lay and hold the turns of rope on the drum. i

The drum is held by a self-locking brake shown as a' band "45, encircling the lower, braking end 46, of the drumand connected atits opposite ends at. 4.1, 48, with the oppositely, extending short and long leverarms .49, 50, respectively, on the shown in Figs. 3 and .5, as having .a socket 52, in

.the outer end of the same to receive the endof the operatingcrank 36, or, if desired, a separate,

This :brake shaft is that full control for winding in or letting out may be exercised at the same time. ure 1, the brake will automatically lock with rotation of the drum in counter-clockwise direction and will release with rotation in clockwise direction.

Guard ribs are indicated at 53, Figs. 1 and 2, extended down from the top or projecting up from the base about the sides of the drum to retain the coils in proper order on the drum, in case of sudden slacking away of the load.

The leading turn passing off the lower end of the drum into the receiver is shown as guided where it passes through the opening 54, in the wall [4, Figs. 1 and 4, by free turning rollers 55,

g 56, located at opposite edges of said opening.

By mounting the receiver directly about the drum and in such relation that the wire will pass olf tangentially from the drum into the receiver,

This relation also provides a small compact neat structure with no exposed operating parts other than the ends of the operating shafts and the outer edge of the coil receiver and the. latter is guarded and protected in its insetrelation in the base and cover. The base flange l6, provides a concealed means by which the" winch maybe mounted wherever required, 'such as'on the side of a mast, indicated at 57, 'Fig; 3. One or more scuppers, such as'indicated at 58,'Figs. 1, 2 and 3, may be provided in the wall surrounding the drum, for carrying away water running oiT the incoming turn of the rope. The roller or rollers 22, holding the one or more turnson the drum assure the drum having a proper grip on the rope at all times and theself" energizing brake assures that'the drum willhold'the load assoon as the turning effort is reduced or removed. Thus the winch is-entirely safe.

The action of reeving up in the first instance is relatively simple; It is only necessary, in the embodiment as illustrated, to remove the cover 17,

-' pass the end of the wire rope through the lead 20,

in the cover flange and fairlead -2l,'in the wall 14,

wrap the rope thedesired numberof turns about the push of the leading end of the wire rope, thus to start the first one-or more few turns in orderly fashion. Then when the'cover'is reapplied, the winch is ready for operation. :By impingement against the outer annularwall of the receiver, the wire rope-starts the receiver action under the greatest possible leverage conditions and thisreceiver acquires a flywheel action-as the coils build up in the same, contributing to smooth operation. The action of paying out is just .as free and smooth. The stiffness of the length of wire rope'between the drum and receiver is ordinarily sufiicient, enabling this section, as indicated inFig. 1, to prevent over-run- .ning in the unwinding direction, but it is contemplated that some braking. action may be applied to the receiver if that becomes desirable-or necessary, suchas in longhauloperations at high velocities. j .7

While particularly useful in marine work, -the invention has many uses inother- -fields, such as for aircraft,oil well machinery, mine elevators, cable cars, stump pullers,

cranes and derricks As shown in Fig- 7 and for such special uses as life boat winches, towing and docking winches, anchor windlasses and balloon winches.

The receiver being external of the mechanism under load, may be of any size, to stow as large or as small an amount of wire rope as occasion requires and this without changing the structure or dimensions of the load carrying parts of the winch. I

After leaving the drum, the wire rope is freed of all load and lays in the receiver in a passive state, which facts contribute to the practical efficient operation of the machine.

While for purposes of compactness and joint operation the receiver preferably surrounds the drum as illustrated, the receiver may be separated from and located at some other point near the drum, thus to leave the drum free for possible other uses.

When operating the drum with the reduction gearing, as for handling heavy loads, the gearing drive shaft 21 by its movement toward the drum causes the rolls 22 to apply a pressure on the coils more or less proportional to the load, thus forcing the rope to grip the drum with heavier pressure for heavy loads and correspondingly lighter pressure for lesser loads. When direct drive is used, as for relatively light loads, there is less need for compressing the coils on the drum and the pressure then applied through the spring 31 acting on the lower end of the shaft 21 is enough to make the rope grip the drum to a sufficient extent. a

What is claimed is:

l. A self-stowing winch for wire rope, comprising in combination a drum, means for rotating said drum and for maintaining a single layer turn of wire rope in running gripping engagement on said drum, an open center annular coil receiver surrounding and passively rotatable about said drum in position for receiving and coiling the wire rope leaving the drum and means for directing the rope leaving the drum outwardly into said annular receiver rotatably surrounding said drum and from inside said annular receiver inwardly onto said drum and a common base on which said drum and coil receiver are supported.

2. A self-stowing winch for wire rope, comprising in combination a drum, means for maintaining a single layer turn of wire rope in running gripping engagement on said drum, an open center annular coil receiver in eccentric relation to and passively rotatable about said drum in position for receiving and coiling the wire rope leaving the drum, guide means for directing the rope leaving the drum into said open center rotatable coil receiver, said first means including a roll or rolls shaped to fit one or more turns of the wire rope on the drum, a roll contoured to engage and f'rictionally drive said coil confining roll or rolls, a shaft carrying said contoured roll and drive gearing connecting said shaft and drum.

3. A self-stowing winch for wire rope, comprising in combination a drum, means for maintaining a single layer turn of wire rope in running gripping engagement on said drum, an open center annular coil receiver passively rotatable about said drum in position for receiving and coiling the wire rope leaving the drum, a guide for directing the rope leaving the drum into said annular rotatable coil receiver, said means including a roll or rolls shaped to fit one or more turns of the wire rope on the drum and yieldable toward medium and means for'driving said drum and said roll or rolls in the same direction and at substantially the same surface speed as the rope winding on the drum and a common base for supporting said drum and coil receiver.

4. A self-stowing winch for wire rope, com prising in combination a drum, means for maintaining a single layer turn of wire rope in running gripping engagement on said drum, an open center annular coil receiver passively rotatable about said drum in position for receiving and coiling the wire rope leaving the drum, said means including a roll or rolls shaped to fit one or more turns of the wire rope on the drum and 'yieldingly forced toward the drum, means for driving said drum and said roll or rolls in the same direction and at substantially the same surface speed as the rope winding on the drum, in-

mounted shaft and thereby said first roll toward said drum to force said coil confining roll to- Ward the drum, a wire rope coiling holder in receptive relation to said drum, said drive gearing including a sprocket chain exerting a pull on said shaft to apply the forcing effect aforesaid and said holder being in the form of an open center annular receiver, said drum and receiver having a common supporting base, on which said receiver is rotatably mounted with the open center of the same about the drum to directly receive the rope issuing from the drum.

6. A winch of the character disclosed, cornprising a base and cooperating cover, a wire rope coiling open center annulus rotatably confined between said base and cover, a drum rotatably mounted in position within said annulus, means for directing a wire rope onto said drum, guide means for directing the rope from said drum into said annulus and means for effecting rotation of said drum,

'7. A winch of the character disclosed, comprising a base and cooperating cover, a wire rope coiling open center annulus rotatably confined between said base and cover, a drum rotatably mounted in position within said annulus, means for directing a wire rope onto said drum, guide means for directing the rope from said drum into said annulus, means for effecting rotation of said drum, including different speed drive connections, one direct with the drum and the other including reduction gearing.

8. In a winch of the character disclosed, a winch casing having a wire rope inlet lead, a drum in said casing in substantially tangential relation to said lead, a brake for said drum, in said casing, an open center annular wire rope coiling receiver surrounding said drum and journalled in said casing about said drum, guide means for directing a coil of rope from said drum into said rotary rope coiling receiver and means for effecting operation of said drum and control of said brake.

9. In a winch of the character disclosed, a winch casing having a wire rope inlet lead, a

drum'in said casing in substantially tangential relation tosaid lead, a brake for said'drum, in

said casing, an annular wire rope coiling receiver .journalled in said casing about said drum, means for efiecting operation of said drum and control and an open center. annular rope coiling receiver mounted for rotation about said drum and band brake, a casing enclosing said drum and, brake,

said receiver being rotatably mountedover the outside of saidgcasing and means exposed at the outside of said casing-for operating saidldrumand ,for actuating said brake.

. ll. .A self-stowing; winch of the character dis closed, comprising in combination, a drum a roller movably associated with saiddrum for adjustably confining awrap of wire rope in fri'ction-tight running engagement with saidfdrum,

drive connections for turning said drum,.means associated withsaidj drive connections for forcging, said roller toward'said drum with a" pressure related to the force required'toturnsaid drum under conditions offinstant load; a self-energizing brake for, holding said drum in the absence of drum turning power applied to, said drive gearing, control means; for efiectingrelease of said self-energizing brake, meansfor guiding and r, f

directing the advancing rope away from the'running wrap on the drurnfand an annular, stovving V and, coiling receiver positioned with the'interior of the same in line withthe jadvancingrope .tion-tight running engagement with said drum,

guided by said means and rotatable under the pushand pull of said advanced rope to thereby automatically coil and stow the rope advanced by the drum and to, automatically uncoil the stowed rope, to the drum when the brake is re- 12. A self-stowing winch of the character disclosed, comprising in combination, a drum, a roller movably associated with said drum for adjustably confining a wrap of wire rope in fricdrive connections for turning said drum, means associated with said drive gearing, for forcing said roller toward said drum with a pressure related to the force required to turn said drum under conditions of instant load, a self-energizing brake for holding said drum'in the absence of drumjturning power applied to said drive gearing, control means for effecting release of said self-energizing brakameans for guiding and directing the, advancing rope away from the running wrapon'thedrum, an annular stowing and ceiling receiver positioned with; the interior Yof the same in line with the advancing rope guided by said means and rotatable under the push and p-ull, of said advancedrope to thereby automatically coil ,andstow the rope advanced by the drum and to automatically uncoil the stowed rope, to thedrum when the brake is, re-

leased, said drive connections including a' drive shaft yieldablec toward the drum and connecvtions vfromsaidshaft to thedrum having a reaction to 'thrust said shaft toward the drum and a drive roller on said shaft engageable with said ,pressure roller for rotating the same and con- .stitutingv part of the means aforesaid for ap ply ingthe pressure related to the load.

,JASPER MORGAN; I 

